JT Tuimoloau

UPDATES

Week 8: Though he was credited with just one sack and one assisted tackle, the DE put his stamp on the game when it mattered most. Tuimaloau had a sack on Penn State QB Drew Allar early in the fourth, with Ohio State clinging to a four-point lead and Penn State on the Buckeyes' side of the 50. Later, with Ohio State up 13-6, he hit Allar's arm on 4th-and-3 from the Penn State 47. The resulting incompletion got the ball back for Ohio State on Penn State's side of midfield. His pressure then drove Allar into a sack on Penn State's final drive. Suffice it say, Tuimaloau raised some hell in the fourth quarter today. — JH

Week 7: Tuimaloau's star continued to rise in Ohio State's rout of Purdue, 41-7. The edge rusher notched two sacks and had three other pressures on Boilermakers' QB Hudson Card, and was credited with one solo tackle. One of Tuimaloau's sacks was a third-down play near the end of the first half that snuffed out a Purdue red-zone scoring threat.— JH

Week 6: Tuimaloau had an impactful game in the Buckeyes' 37-17 win over Maryland. The DE racked up one sack and four additional pressures in 41 pass-rush attempts. He was also credited with one solo tackle and three assisted tackles. — JH

Week 5: DNP — bye week

Week 4: Tuimaloau had an up-and-down day. As a pass rusher in Ohio State's 17-14 win over Notre Dame. He tallied four quarterback pressures, but was stymied at the point of attack on a number of other rushes. Against the run, he was in on four tackles but missed two tackles. — JH 

Week 3: The talented DE was stellar in his 43 snaps against Western Kentucky as his Buckeyes overwhelmed Western Kentucky 63-10. Though he didn't record a sack, Tuimoloau harrassed Hilltoppers quarterback Austin Reed for much of afternoon, finishing with six QB pressures. On the downside, Tuimoloau recorded one tackle and missed tackles on a couple of other occasions.  — JH

Week 2: A fairly uneventful day for Tuimoloau in the Buckeyes' 35-7 romp over Youngstown State. In 43 snaps, the DE recorded one tackle and one QB pressure. — JH

Week 1: In Ohio State's season opener, a 23-3 win over host Indiana, Tuimoloau had four tackles, including half of a tackle for loss, and two pressures against Hoosiers QB Brendan Sorsby. Alternating between left and right DE, Tuimoloau was in on 40 total snaps. — JH

Week 0: DNP

IN THE NEWS

An On3.com story on Tuimoloau using NIL to promote youth football camp

https://www.on3.com/nil/news/jt-tuimoloau-ohio-state-football-nil-collective-deals-cohesion-foundation-lindy-infante-foundation/

—On3.com, 6/8/23

HISTORY — from college profile

Made his commitment to Ohio State on July 4, 2021, becoming the final member of the 2021 recruiting class... Is the highest-rated defensive prospect to sign with Ohio State in the modern recruiting era (2000-present).

2023: Enters the season with 45 career tackles including 15.0 tackles-for-losses totalling 69 yards, 6.0 sacks and five quarterback hurries and pass break-ups, respectively...

2022 (fr): He started all 13 games in 2022 after playing in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2021 for 26 total games played... He was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference last year after a 28-tackle season that included 10.5 TFLs totalling 39 yards and 3.5 sacks... Also had two interceptions, including a pick-six, four pass break-ups, four QB hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery... In the Buckeyes’ 44-31 win at Penn State, he had a career-high six tackles, three TFLs, including two sacks, two interceptions, one PBU, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The four takeaways he helped force vs. Penn State led to 21 Ohio State points, including his 14-yard fourth-quarter pick-six to clinch the victory. He was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, the Bednarik Award Player of the Week and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Nittany Lions... Also had two TFLs and four total tackles vs. Michigan... Contributed 17 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles-for-losses totallng 30 yards as a true freshman in 2021... Had quarterback sacks vs. in consecutive games vs. Maryland, Indiana and Penn State... Registered three tackles in the Rose Bowl win vs. Utah.

Honors & Awards
2022: All-Big Ten Conference (first-team, media)

High school: The nation’s No. 1-rated overall prospect according to 247Sports.com... His commitment gave the Buckeyes four of the nation’s top-10 ranked players in the 2021 signing class... Named the 2021 Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year... Led Eastside Catholic to a pair of 3A state titles in his career (2018 and 2019)... Named the SBLive Washington Player of the Year despite a shortened high school season that occurred in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic... As a junior in 2019, he led Eastside Catholic in tackles (64) and sacks (11)... Was a 2020 All-American Bowl selection... Selected as SBLive’s 3A Senior Athlete of the Year... Four-year member of the Eastside Catholic basketball team with a career scoring average of 11.1 points per game... In a pandemic-shortened senior season, he averaged 18.0 points per game and eight rebounds while playing guard, forward and center.

PERSONAL

Is the son of Ponce de Leon Faletoi and Alofa Tuimoloau...Social Media: Twitter: @JT_tuimoloau / Instagram: @_.officialjt._